Post pullers



H. B. FLEMING POST PULLERS Sept. 1, 1970 Filed June 12, 1968 2Sheets-Sheet 1 w 6m m u m 1 FM J M 5.. M .WQ a a W L m a a L1 1.: 6v H Emm n wm vm mm Wm United States Patent 3,526,387 POST PULLERS Howard B.Fleming, South Portland, Maine, assignor to Fleming Devices, Inc., SouthPortland, Maine, a corporation of Maine Filed June 12, 1968, Ser. No.736,327 Int. Cl. B661? 11/00; E21b 19/00 US. Cl. 25430 Claims ABSTRACTOF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to post pullers andparticularly to post pullers adapted to be operated by the hydraulicsystem of a motor vehicle that may also be employed to move the pullersfrom post-to-post.

While post pullers vary as required by the type and dimensions of theground entering member that is to be wholly or partly raised from theground, typical requirements are illustrated by problems encountered inreadjusting the heights of guard rail posts to meet new safetystandards. Such partial pulling of posts must be rapidly effected,requiring both effective puller operation and ease in moving the pullerfrom one post to another.

The principal objective of the present invention is to provide postpullers that will meet both of those generally indicated requirements,an objective attained with a post puller having a base provided with anopening extending rearwardly from its front end and dimensioned toenable the base to straddle the post that is to be pulled. Supportingstructure adjacent the front end of the base and laterally of itsopening has one end of an arm pivotally connected thereto, the armextending length-wise above the opening with its other end pivotallyconnected to a ram pivotally mounted on the base rearwardly of theopening. The post-gripping means are connected to the arm intermediateits pivots so that when the ram is actuated, the arm functions as asecond class lever in raising the embedded post.

The ram is desirably hydraulically operated as the base is adapted to becarried from post-to-post by a hydraulically operated pick-up deviceattached to a motor vehicle. With this arrangement, the vehicle may bemaneuvered into a position in which the base straddles the post and thebase then lowered so that it is supported by the ground. Thepost-gripping means are then secured to the straddled post and the ramemployed to actuate the lever arm to raise the post. After thepost-gripping means are released and the ram lowered, the hydraulicsystem of the vehicle is used to pick up the post puller and carry it tothe next post.

For this purpose, a lifting fork is preferred and the base, accordingly,has loops on each side of its opening and accessible from the rear ofthe puller that are disposed and dimensioned to receive the fork.Desirably, the vehicle has a short wheel base so that, in most cases,the major portion of the fork will rest against the ground when thepuller is positioned for use so that upwardly sloping or downwardlysloping ground is no problem. Sloping ground does, however, requireadjustability of the connection between the post-gripping means and thelever arm to insure the most effective operation whether the groundslopes in either direction or is flat. This objective is attained byproviding for the attachment of the postgripping means in any one of aplurality of positions lengthwise of the lever arm.

in the accompanying drawings, there is shown an illustrative embodimentof the invention from which these and other of its objectives, novelfeatures and advantages will be apparent.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a post puller in accordance with theinvention,

FIG. 2 is a side view thereof,

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary rear view showing the connection between the ramand the lever arm, and

FIG. 4 is a section taken approximately along the indicated lines 44 ofFIG. 3.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated by the drawings, thepuller has a base 10 in the form of a flat plate provided with a centralslot 11 having a flared entrance opening through its front edge andextending a substantial distance to the rear to enable the base 10 tostraddle the post 12 that is to be pulled, the post .12 being shown as asection of an H beam only by way of an example. At the rear end of theslot 11 there is a roller 13 mounted in marginal supports 14 and inpractice, the puller is moved into a position in which the roller 13 isusually in engagement with the post 12.

Uprights 15 are pivotally connected as at 16 to the base 10, one on eachside of the slot 11 and adjacent the front edge of the base. Theuprights 15 are inclined inwardly towards each other and their upperends are interconnected by the pivot 17 in support of one end of thelever arm, generally indicated at '18. Each upright 15 is connected tooutwardly inclined brace structure 19 welded to the base 10 adjacent theslot 11. Where adjustment of the angle between the uprights 15 and thebase 10 is to be varied, each brace 19 has an arcuate slot 20 throughwhich extends the anchoring bolt 21 for the appropriate upright.

The lever arm 18 is shown as consisting of two mernbers 22 of rightangular section having their side portions 22A held in spaced parallelrelationship by a like member 23 whose edges are welded to their sideportions 22B. The side portions 22A have transversely aligned holes atone end for the pivot 17 and like holes at its other end for the pivot24 by which the lever arm 18 is secured to the generally indicatedattachment 25 secured to'the exposed end of the piston 26 of thehydraulic ram whose cylinder 27 is connected to a mount 28 secured tothe base 10 rearwardly of its slot 11 by a transversely disposed pivot29.

The post puller shown in the drawings is to be carried from post-to-poston a hydraulically raised and lowered fork and to be operated when thefork is resting on the ground by the hydraulic system of the vehicle towhich the fork is attached. The base 10 has loops 30 on each side of theslot 11 and accessible from the rear of the post puller for the arms ofthe generally indicated fork 31, the loops 30 being dimensioned so thatthe fork arms are a loose fit therein to enable the base 10 to besupported on the ground sloping relative to the plane defined by thefork 31.

The side portions 22A also have a series of transversely aligned holes32 to provide different positions lengthwise of the lever arm 18 for thepivot pin 33 which supports the hook 34 between the portions 22A. Thechain 35 for the post-gripping means is detachably secured to the leverarm 18 by the hook 34. While the post-gripping means, generallyindicated at 36, may be of other types, it is herein shown as a bodyhaving a transverse, downwardly opening slot 37 dimensioned to receivethe upper end of the post 12. A cam 38 pivotally connected to the bodyis exposed in the slot 27 for engagement with one side of the post 12and includes an outwardly extending arm 39. The chain 35 is connected tothe arm 39 after having been passed through the upwardly disposed eye 40so that an upward pull on the chain 35 actuates the cam 38 to clamp thepost 12 securely against the opposite side wall of the slot 37.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that in pulling a long seriesof posts, whether to remove them or to raise them to a predeterminedextent, the puller is picked up by a vehicle having a hydraulicallyoperated lifting fork 31 and the ram is connected to the hydraulicsystem of the vehicle. The operator of the vehicle maneuvers the vehicleinto a position in which the base straddles a post 12 with the post 12at or close to the rear end of the slot 11. The fork 31 is lowered untilthe base 10 rests on the ground. With the post-gripping means 36 securedto the post 12 and the chain 35 caught on the hook 34, the hydraulicsystem is then employed to actuate the ram to raise or remove the post12. After the post-gripping means 36 are released and the puller liftedby the fork 31, the operator moves to the next post.

It is, of course, desirable that the pull on the post 12 be i verticalthereof. For that reason, if the terrain so slopes as to make asubstantial variation in the direction of the pull relative to the post12, the hook 34 may be moved with its pivot 33 supported in differenttransversely aligned holes 32, forwardly if the ground slopes upwardlyand rearwardly if the ground slopes in the opposite direction. It willalso be apparent that the angle of the uprights 15 relative to the base10 may also be varied to accommodate slopes but a change in thisrelationship is not usually necessary.

I claim:

1. In a post puller for use with a post-gripping clamp having asupporting chain, said puller comprising a base having an openingextending rearwardly from its front end and dimensioned to enable thepuller to straddle the post to be pulled, supporting structure adjacentthe front end of said base and laterally of said opening, an armpivotally connected to said structure above said opening and extendinglengthwise and rearwardly thereof, a ram comprising piston and cylindermembers, one member pivotally connected to said base adjacent its rearend and a pivot connecting the other member to the rear end of said arm,the intermediate portion of said arm including means by whichpost-gripping means may be connected thereto.

2. The post puller of claim 1 in which the connecting means for thepost-gripping means provides a series of longitudinally spaced attachingpositions, one in a perpendicular to the base that is inclusive of theposition of a post when the puller is placed so that the straddled postis at the rear end of the opening.

3. The post puller of claim 2 in which the connecting means for thepost-gripping means is a hook including a pivot and the attachingpositions are pivot-receiving holes extending transversely through thearm.

4. The post puller of claim 1 and the base has forward and rearwardloops accessible from the rear of the puller and shaped and dimensionedfor the reception of the arms by a hydraulically operated lifting forkand the ram is hydraulically operated.

5. The post puller of claim 1 in which the arm includes a pair ofparallel members of rectangular cross section arranged with a sideportion of each depending and spaced from the side portion of the other,and a thread member of rectangular stock with its edges welded to theother side portions of the pair of members, the depending portionshaving a series of longitudinally spaced and transversely aligned holesand the connecting means is a hook including a detachable pivot, thepivot extending through transversely aligned holes with the hookdepending between the side portions.

6. The post puller of claim 5 in which the ram memher that is pivotallyconnected to the arm includes a pair of vertically disposed, parallelmembers of rectangular stock arranged with a side portion of eachparallel but spaced apart and with the rear ends of the dependingportions of the arm between them and connected thereto by the pivot.

7. The post puller of claim 1 in which the supporting structure includesa pair of uprights, one on each side of the opening, the uprights beingupwardly and inwardly inclined towards each other, forward and rearwardloops on each side of the opening for a lifting fork and accessible fromthe rear of the base, and brace means connected to the uprights and tothe base, each brace means being secured to the base between the marginsof the opening and the proximate loops.

8. The post puller of claim 1 in which the supporting structure includesa pair of uprights, one on each side of the opening, the uprights beingupwardly and inwardly inclined towards each other, each upright beingpivotally connected to the base, and brace means for each upright, eachbrace means being secured to said base, and means adjustably connectingeach upright to its brace means to enable the angle of the uprights tothe base in a lengthwise direction to be raised.

9. The post puller of claim 1 in which the opening is a slot.

10. The post puller of claim 1 in which the opening is a slot and aroller carried by the base and engageable by a post when the puller ispositioned with a post at the rear end of the slot.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,043,223 11/1912 Grady 254-303,048,368 8/1962 Linabery 254-132 X 3,161,432 12/1964 OLeary 254132 X3,358,967 12/1967 Harmon 2543O OTHELL M. SIMPSON, Primary Examiner DAVIDR. MELTON, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 254-132

